“Throughout history, it has been the inaction of those who could have acted; the indifference of those who should have known better; the silence of the voice of justice when it mattered most; that has made it possible for evil to triumph.”
Haile Selassie

Wednesday, October 22, 2014

Angie's List Loses Money Again; Fails to Meet Expectations

The Indianapolis-based consumer-review company said Wednesday morning
that it lost

$5.2 million, or 9 cents per share, in the period ended
Sept. 30, compared with a loss of $13.5 million, or 23 cents per share, a
year ago.

The loss, adjusted to extinguish debt, came to 8 cents per share, which
fell short of Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of
analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for a loss of 5 cents
per share.
...
Angie's List shares have decreased 45 percent since the beginning of
the year. Shares fell 8.8 percent in premarket trading Wednesday, to
$7.55 each.

IBJ puts a positive spin on the news that Angie's List losing money by talking about the company's increased revenue. Of course, at the end of the day increased revenue at means nothing if a profit is not turned. Angie's List has not turned a profit in its 19 year history.

In a bizarre move, Indianapolis and state officials last week pledged $25 million in subsidies for Angie's List to expand its operations. Three years earlier. the city and state gave Angie's List $14 million in subsidies. In between the two bequests of taxpayer money, there has been a layoff, two investor lawsuits accusing Angie's List executives of fraud, and the IBJ's expose of a strange real estate dealings involving Angie's List CEO Bill Oesterle in which a company he formed and owned 70% of, bought 40 parcels of downtown property for $2.625 million and then, using the city's 2011 subsidy money, bought the property for Angie's List for $6.25 million. I recounted Angie's List history and have links to IBJ stories in the column I wrote last week about the company.

About Me

I have been an attorney since the Fall of 1987. I have worked in every branch of government, including a stint as a Deputy Attorney General, a clerk for a judge on the Indiana Court of Appeals, and I have worked three sessions at the Indiana State Senate.
During my time as a lawyer, I have worked not only in various government positions, but also in private practice as a trial attorney handing an assortment of mostly civil cases.
I have also been politically active and run this blog in an effort to add my voice to those calling for reform.